Polymorphisms in the glutathione S-transferase theta and mu genes and susceptibility to myeloid leukemia in Brazilian patients

The null genotype for glutathione S-transferase (GST, EC 2.5.1.18) gene polymorphisms is considered a risk factor for leukemia in different populations. In this work we investigated the GSTT1 and GSTM1 polymorphisms using multiplex PCR in 53 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), 23 with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and 304 apparently healthy controls. In this association study we found that the GSTT1null genotype was more frequent in our group of APL patients than in the control group [OR = 2.75 (95% CI = 1.10-6.88)], providing evidence that a deletion in the GSTT1 gene could be a risk factor for this type of leukemia